The Beauty Queen and the Bad Boy How Cliché
by HAWTgeek
Summary: ONE-SHOT Piper has everything, or so everyone thinks.She and her boyfriend are drifting apart, and she doesnt know what to do anymore.That's when she meets Nico.Will he bring her back the happiness that could save her relationshop or will it be more?


_**The Beauty Queen and the Bad Boy. How Cliché.**_

_**piperXnico**_

_**Nico will be sixteen like Piper**_

_**Piper:**_

Jason smiled at me, and, instead of feeling the buzz I used to, I felt trapped.

We were what we were supposed to be.

The camp couple. Happy in every way. Picture perfect, Ralf Lauren catalog couple. The Zeus boy and the Aphrodite girl. It's just a match made in the heavens.

Or at least, that's what everyone says.

It used to feel like that. I used to know that I wanted to be his one and only. I used to dream of waking up each morning, knowing he was mine. When it all began, I could have gotten high off of it, but, right now, it's enough to put someone to sleep.

I feel like Emily in Pretty Little Liars, minus the gay part or the getting pregnant thing. Basically, I relate to having the 'perfect' life and not really wanting it.

I used to hear some people say that we were 'Disney', and I would have agreed in a heart beat. But 'Disney' got boring. Couldn't we get 'Universal' or something? A life lesson and a happy ending is so 'picture perfect', and I don't want that.

I love Jason, but I hate this couple. I want something exciting and fun, not typical and boring. I feel like I'm stuck back in Hollywood with Dad, everything being handed to me and forever having to keep up an image. Jason and I aren't a couple. We're an idea. He's kissed me, but we really haven't _kissed_ in forever.

"I'll see you tonight," Jason smiled, not even noticing how distant I was. It was like he was even falling for the illusion of what we pretended to be. That made the knot in my stomach double, and I took a deep breath to see if that could actually help me, not that it could. Jason kissed my cheek, and I passed off a weak smile as I watched him leave. I felt myself break down, and I couldn't do that in the middle of the horseshoe of cabins.

Everything around me began to blur. It was like I was watching my life on a bad quality screen. I didn't feel like I was living my life. What happened to me? I thought I'd never become one of these girls. How'd this become my life?

I didn't know what to do. I was just stuck standing in the middle of commotion, my heart pounding. I felt like one of those girls in the movies just waiting to meet some hot bad boy to sweep her off her feet and make it all go away, but there wasn't some hot bad boy here to rescue me, just a Ralf-Lauren-perfect boy who is my problem. No one seemed to notice when I slipped into the crowd and out of it, towards the woods, where I knew I could be alone. I didn't know what I was going to do when I got there. I just knew I needed to get there.

I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the fresh air that hadn't been littered by the Campers. Maybe it was being without all the spectators watching my every move. It could have even been being far away from Mr. Perfect, but I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders. I felt like getting drunk and laughing, not faking a laugh, but really laughing. I even felt like doing one of those split things in a jump, not that I could, but I wanted to.

I knew it was dangerous, but I couldn't get myself to leave the woods. It was like I was addicted to the relief I felt when I came out here. As I continued to walk on, I contemplated to just stay here forever, never go back. I don't think anyone would care. Jason never paid attention any way. It could take months for him to notice I'm gone. We're not at all like Percy and Annabeth, or what I hear that they had.

She could talk, and he would really listen. He could hold her in an embrace and make a joke. Percy wouldn't just notice she was down, but he would do his best to make sure she wasn't. Is that too much to ask? What happened to Jason?

He became… I don't know. It's like he became a complete Roman. I haven't seen a real smile escape his lips in forever. He hasn't made a joke in weeks. Jason doesn't do anything… it's like he's the corpse of the Jason I know. I used to think he was cheating on me and fell in love with her, unable to be himself around me, but he wasn't. I had him followed for like a week to see, and nothing. Sometimes I wonder if he remembered a girl he loved in the Roman camp and is grieving for the lost relationship or something, but I wouldn't know. He doesn't talk to me anymore. We're like one of those celebrity couples who smile for the cameras then separate immediately, telling magazines that they're happy or whatever dramatic story they came up with. I've heard that relationships are basically just a business deal, but I never believed it until now. And if we're a business deal, I want a loophole out.

I huffed a sigh as I plopped down in front of a tree, where I pushed my back to the bark.

"If you're here to have a mental pity party, this spot is taken," a boy's voice scared me out of my thoughts. I looked to my right where I saw a guy about my age, if not older, sitting in front of another story. If he had long hair, he would have looked like Patrick from 10 Things I Hate About you, the movie not the show. His dark eyes looked into mine with a look of amusement, making a shiver run down my spine.

I didn't know what to say. Instead, I blushed to the shade of a tomato and looked down at a golden blood stain on my jeans.

"Wait, you're Piper McLean," the boy's eyes changed to look like he wanted to start laughing his little head off, "What's little Ms. Perfect doing out here?"

From anyone else, that would have been a compliment, but I could tell he was mocking me. It was pretty obvious, but I didn't know what to tell him, whoever he was.

"Maybe I'm tired of being 'Ms. Perfect'," I shrugged, still looking at the stain on my leg.

"Oh, so you want to marry the little boy toy and become 'Mrs. Perfect'? Makes perfect sense," the boy smirked, but I didn't blush this time. I didn't have to say anything because I still didn't know what to say. This time his face fell a little, and he slipped out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket along with a black lighter.

"Want one?" he didn't look at me as if he was still feeling bad about what he said, and he slid one of them out for himself. It was pretty tempting to say yes. A few of the girls in my cabin smoked, but they all did it in secret because they wanted everyone to think they were naturally skinny. I also heard it could calm your nerves, but I didn't want to get addicted to something that could kill me, no matter how much I wanted to escape.

"I don't smoke," I told him in a small voice, and he shrugged as he lit up. He seemed to want to enjoy it as he took the first breath, but he didn't smile or anything. He kept a frown, like he was stuck remembering something he really didn't want to.

"What's your name?" I asked, trying not to sound like I was asking something out of nowhere. His lips blew out the smoke before he looked at me.

"I'm Nico di Angelo," he smiled, and I took him all in.

I had seen a picture of his twin sister, Bianca, but I had never met him other than a picture from when he was twelve. His olive skin had paled a little bit, and he was still wearing the goth clothes, other than the aviator jacket. His brown eyes looked exactly the same, except for being sad. On his left index finger, he had a silver skull ring on. He also seemed colder, like he had spent years keeping away from other people. Other than growing up since then, he had become a whole lot stronger. I mean like, almost Percy ripped body.

I wanted to say 'You're Nico?' or something like that, but I could tell he didn't want to be Nico at that moment.

"Well, Nico, why are you here?"

His brown eyes became frigid for a second, like I had just brought out a knife not have asked why he was here. Nico took another breath of his cigarette before looking at me again.

"It's my birthday," Nico told me as if it should have made since, and I knit my eyebrows in confusion.

"Which means that it's also Bianca's birthday," his voice was small, like how much of a cigarette that hadn't been burnt out yet.

"Oh," I looked down, feeling bad for bring it up.

"What brings you here?" his eyes narrowed a little bit as if he was trying to figure it out for himself before I answered. I let out a long sigh and even thought of taking up on that offer for a smoke.

"Um, I don't know. I just get so tired having to always pretend that I'm happy…"

_**One Week Later:**_

Since the first conversation I had with Nico, we had been meeting every day in the woods to talk, which had made me really happy. I don't know what it was, but it was like he broke me out of my depression. I could talk to him for hours about anything, and he could sit there and tell me everything, too. Because of wonderful Nico, Jason and I were better. It still felt like an act, but it became a fun act.

"Why have you been so happy recently, Pipes?" Jason asked with his arm slung around me, asking about my mood for the first time in weeks. It felt nice, but the fact that it was the first time, made the sweetness about the question disappear.

"I don't know," I lied, but I knew why I was happy. I knew why I had been smiling all morning. Nico and I had met every day, except for yesterday when Annabeth wasn't feeling so hot and forced him to drive out to get her some cough medicine, and then Thalia needed him to back out and pick up some things from the store because she was too lazy to go get it herself. Today, I was meeting him by the pier, and I was going to help him quit smoking again. We almost had him for a few days, but he broke down and took a smoke.

"Well, when you figure it out, let me know," he kissed the top of my head, "Need a walk to Dinner?"

"No, I'm not hungry tonight. I'll see you at the Camp Fire later though," I smiled, and Jason looked at me for a moment like he didn't believe me. But I kept a straight face.

"Well, okay," he seemed a little odd, but he kissed the top of my head again and removed his arm from around me to walk to the pavilion. I waited a little bit until he was out of sight until I went to my phone that had started vibrating earlier, but I hadn't answered because of Jason.

_Coming?_

_-Nico_

I rolled my eyes after I read the text message and hurriedly typed back a 'On my way' response. I slid the phone back in my pocket and decided to walk to the pier, just to make him mad that I didn't run. It was a beautiful night, with the stars illuminating the camp around me. Everyone was at dinner, meaning it looked like a ghost town, with just me and Nico as its occupants.

"Looks like you finally decided to show up," Nico had his arms crossed and I noticed the pack of cigarettes in his hand, making me a little nervous. Had he gotten in a smoke before I got here?

"Hey, at least I'm here," I smiled as I walked to where he was standing, and I gently took the pack from his hands, ignoring how our hands touched in the process.

"I thought you said you were going to quit," I looked in him dead straight in his brown eyes, and he didn't stir. It was like he wanted to just stand there and look into my eyes as well. I usually would have just shaken off the blush and looked away, but I just raised an eyebrow and continued to look at him.

"I _am_ going to quit," he gently took them back from me, "I found them in my room, and I knew if I just threw them out, I'd go back for them. Which is why," he smiled and nodded towards the water, "I asked you to meet me here."

"I thought we were here for that," I nodded towards the board game at his feet, and he smiled again.

Ever since I was little, I wanted an Ouija board, and I searched for one for years. When I finally got one, I was on set for one of my dad's movie. I was playing with it with an actress's son who was fifteen, being one year older than me. His mom found us and totally freaked out. He took the blame, and she threw the board away. Ever since then, I found one more in a small shop in California because I'm not really allowed to use E-Bay. My dad had just sold the mansion in the hills for something more private because the paparazzi found us. So, while packing up, the board was lost once more. By then, I was being shipped off to the evil school.

But Nico had one. As a joke, Annabeth bought him one for his birthday, and he had used one once with his sister at the Lotus Casino. We looked up some tips and found that we should do it somewhere peaceful and we know the rules of camp meaning many places were cut off, including: my cabin (camp rules), his cabin (camp rules), the woods (game rules), and other such places.

"I studied the rules. Let's get started," Nico was about to sit down, but I stopped him.

"Fine," he took the packet of cigarettes and threw them into the green water, making a big 'thunk'.

_**Forty-Minutes Later:**_

I sat there, ignoring the thought that our fingers were like one centimeter apart, if not less. I looked down to my right to read the answer we got.

"What name did you get?" Nico asked though I was completely aware he could remember those letters.

"You pushed it, didn't you?" my eyes were hard, like the wood we were sitting on that was scratching my bare calf.

"Of course not, I didn't even pay attention. What did it say?" Nico defended himself, and I looked away from him to rip apart the piece of paper and throw the little pieces into the water.

"Wait a minute, it said 'Jason', did it?" Nico raised an eyebrow as he took his hand off the little piece.

"No," I snapped, and I crossed my arms.

"Then who did it-" Nico's smile faded, and he stopped himself. I looked up into his eyes, and I knew right then he understood what it had said.

'Nico di Angelo'

"It said me, didn't it?" Nico's voice was small like when he first told me about what happened to Bianca.

"It did."

I sat there, realizing that I had wanted it to say his name. I had asked who I really loved, and it spelled out Nico. I had never thought about it until now, but I really wanted him. There was a reason I was happy, and I wanted to stay like this forever.

"Would you be okay with that?" my voice felt smaller than his, but I could tell that he could hear me.

"What?" shock covered his beautiful face, and I felt nerves flood throughout my body.

"I said, would you be okay with-" I was cut off by Nico's lips crashing onto mine. I pushed him off, and he looked at me, with his eyes full of shock. Without a word, I pushed away the board and came closer to him again, wrapping my arms around his neck.

"You're the reason I'm happy again," I smiled.

"And you saved my life," he smiled, too.

That was when I remembered what he had been holding in his hand.

I hadn't really bothered to care when I first saw it, but he was holding a blade. And his finger was already bleeding. With the mood he was in, I would believe it if he had been about to kill himself.

"You were going to kill yourself?" I asked, completely shocked. He had never brought up such a possibility or anything like that. He seemed happy when I was around him, and maybe that was why. I was with him.

"Yeah," Nico blushed a little, and I really didn't know how to feel other than shocked. He never seemed like that kind of person, but I suppose I could see it. It's just… I don't know what I'd do if he had. I couldn't live without him now that I have him.

I couldn't think of anything to say, but, instead, I just kissed him again, and again, and again. For a moment, it was all we could think of, and Nico wrapped his arms around my waist. But then he remembered something I was trying to forget.

"Wait, what about Jason?"

I didn't really think of that one. I knew I would break up with him, but what would I say? 'You turned into some stupid, perfect guy who wasn't you, and you made me so upset that a son of Hades, who was about to commit suicide, could make me happier than you could'? I don't think that'll work out very well.

"I don't know, but he couldn't make me happy like you can…" I knew I had to tell him, and I knew Nico wanted me to tell him that moment.

"What the Hades is going on here?" Jason's voice boomed behind me. I slid out of Nico's grasp to see that Jason was standing at the beginning of the pier, staring at us like he wanted to kill someone. Both of us immediately stood up for some reason, and Jason slowly made his way towards us.

"I said, what the _hades_ is going on here?" Jason boomed again, "Is this why you've been so happy? Because you were cheating on me? Is this were you've been when no one could find you? Hooking up with your little boy toy?"

"Shut up, _Pretty Boy_!" Nico spat, "Didn't you hear? She wasn't happy with you," Nico had a look in his eyes that finished the sentence with 'like she is with me'

"Stay out of this, and go have a smoke somewhere," Jason retorted.

"That's it," Nico was about to go towards him, but I pulled him back by his hand.

"Guys," I tried to cut in, but they continued to insult each other until I noticed Jason had a hand on his sword and Nico on his ring, that with a certain word turned into a sword. It was easy to tell that this wasn't going to go well, but I didn't know how to stop it.

"Guys," I tried again, but they still didn't listen.

"Both of you, shut up!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, and this got their attention.

"Don't I have a say in this? It's _my _life," I started off, and they both looked down towards the pier beneath them, "If you keep this up, I'm leaving both of you," Nico's face paled at this and he looked up at me immediately.

"I made my choice, and you're going to put up with it, even if you don't want to. Deal?" I crossed my arms, and Jason finally looked up, his blue eyes filled with betrayal and relief. I knew right then that I had been right about what happened to him. He hadn't been cheating on me. He remembered someone, and he didn't know how to tell me. I felt a little relieved but not by much.

I nervously took Nico's hand, which he squeezed in support, showing Jason who the choice was without having to actually saying it.

"Fine," Jason told me in a monotone, but he then looked at Nico with pure anger, "But I'm not done with you."

"Likewise," Nico's beautiful brown eyes were filled with animosity, which scared me because I had never seen him like that, but I still knew he was the right choice, even if I was scared to death. Jason stomped away, and I felt a burden relief my shoulders. It was like starting all over, without having ever been with Jason.

"I guess that answers the Jason question," I tried to smile, and Nico looked down at me with a smile.

"I cant believe Boy Toy called _me_ Boy Toy," Nico smirked.

"Well, I did cheat on him with you," I pointed out.

"Oh right. Now, where were we?" he smiled as he leaned down to kiss me. That was when it hit me.

The popular girl and the bad boy.

How cliché.


End file.
